Cabaret Singer Dedicates Emotional Performance to Her Ailing Mother

Each day is a gift.  

This is something we all tend to take for granted. But for someone diagnosed with an illness like ovarian cancer, it is all too true.

Melanie Gendreau of Seekonk has an intimate understanding because her mother has been battling the disease for seven years. Wanting to do something to honor her mother and also spread awareness about ovarian cancer, Gendreau created a special musical performance called No Day But Today Cabaret.

“The name ‘No Day But Today’ is a song from the Tony Award-winning musical 'Rent',” said Gendreau. “I was in a local production of that show in October 2010 and it was the last full-scale production that my mom was able to see. The song, 'No Day But Today,' reminds us that we can’t control the future or change the past — all we have is today.”

On Tuesday evening, outside on the lawn at , Gendreau and her vocalist friends Dale Magnuson, Veronique Thomaes-Sylvia, John Tavares and Louise Tetreault performed a collection of Broadway songs, accompanied by Ron Procopio, for a very large, enthusiastic audience.

These songs included "Broadway Baby," "Cabaret," "The Music of the Night," "As Long As You’re Mine," "Always a Bridesmaid," "I Know Where I’ve Been," "I’m A Woman," "This Is The Moment," "Taylor the Latte Boy," and "For Good."

Gendreau has performed in theaters and cabaret groups in Rhode Island and Massachusetts since she was a little girl. She played Maureen in "Rent," Val in "A Chorus Line," June in "Chicago," and Mary Magdalene in "Jesus Christ, Superstar."

Gendreau said her mother, who grew up in East Providence and graduated from East Providence High School, can no longer receive treatment for her illness.

“According to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, 22,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year and 15,000 of those women will die from this disease,” said Gendreau.  “There is currently no early detection test. If diagnosed and treated early, when the cancer is confined to the ovary, the five-year survival rate is over 90 percent. Fewer than 20 percent of cases are diagnosed in early stages.”

Speaking about her mother, Gendreau said, “Because she is so courageous and continues to handle her prognosis with such grace, this show is my small gift to her to thank her for all she’s done.”